Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court has ordered the release of Nepali Congress (NC) leader Deepak Khadka from police custody.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla and Justice Shreekant Poudel issued the order on Thursday, while hearing a habeas corpus petition registered by Khadka’s wife, Binita Thapa.
Khadka, a former energy minister, was in police custody for investigation of money laundering charges.
“The urgent arrest warrant against the petitioner was not issued by the Department of Money Laundering Investigation but by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police. The warrant does not show sufficient grounds or reasons necessitating his immediate arrest,” the apex court said in its order.
The court also stated that the preliminary investigation report submitted to the Department of Money Laundering Investigation did not contain any adverse records against the accused. “According to details received from the Crime Research Section of the Nepal Police headquarters, there is no record of accused Khadka’s involvement in any criminal activity. Hence, the alleged offense could not be established,” the court said.
The Supreme Court also concluded that due legal procedures were not followed while keeping Khadka in custody.
“The arrest warrant and the extension of remand were not found to be in accordance with the law. As the nature of the alleged offense allows the investigation to be conducted without keeping the accused in custody, it is deemed appropriate to issue a habeas corpus order directing that the petitioner be released immediately, and that he be allowed to travel abroad only with permission from the concerned court,” the order states.
During last September’s protest, a large amount of foreign currency was reportedly found at Khadka’s residence. This prompted the Department of Money Laundering Investigation to initiate a probe on suspicion that the money may have been acquired illegally. The CIB arrested Khadka on March 29.
